Your resume is the most vital document in getting the job or not getting the job. Therefore, it is imperative to make your resume look professional as well. However, due to the hectic pace at which jobs are available, it is often difficult to create a well-formatted resume that will be the determining factor for you getting the job or not. In such a scenario, cover letter formatting plays a very crucial role. Many job aspirants make grave mistakes in ignoring the formatting of their resumes and cover letters. In fact, many a times, they overlook the importance of making an impactful cover letter that not only gives a good look to the document but also makes an impressive first impression on the hiring manager.
How to Make it Look Professional: First and foremost, you have to format a cover letter in such a manner so that it looks professional and follows all the important rules of business letter etiquette. It is important that you maintain consistent formatting throughout the document and maintain uniform spacing. Secondly, your cover letter must be well structured in a logical manner. This implies keeping the font of your text on the left, while filling columns from left to right.
What Do I Mean by Consistently Spaces? For every four-line word, the spacing should be four spaces. Similarly, you should maintain consistent spacing within paragraphs. Even if your paragraph text is longer than the rest of the text (which is usually the case), you should maintain a balanced typeface. When in doubt, always look at the example below where the spacing in the margins of the cover letter is consistent across the whole text.
Here is a Cover Letter Example Here, you will see a very common mistake committed by people when applying for a job: they apply using one cover letter template. This is wrong! Do not make this mistake! There are many cover letter examples available on the internet; you just need to choose the one which best suits your job requirements.
Why do I say so? Simply because most job applicants use templates and do not even bother to try and get the most out of their job application. They simply go for the cover letter format which looks professional, without getting to know the content. One thing you need to understand about hiring managers is that they do not read every single word on your resume. They carefully go through your resume, highlighting salient points and they make the decision whether to call you or pass you by based on the content of your cover letter.
Hence, here is what you can do when it comes to email cover letters: format your email in such a manner that it conveys the message that you want. It is very important to understand that hiring managers are not stupid; they do not read every word of your resume. Hence, there is a need to present your resume as you do in your CV. Do not make the mistake of hiding important information like your full name, contact details and even your address on your resume. Do not try to hide these vital sections because this will definitely have an adverse impact on your application.
The next thing you need to remember when it comes to preparing an effective and impressive cover letter is the inclusion of the personal pronouns. This means that you should keep your personal and professional names in the first and last paragraph only. In the first paragraph, do not include information about yourself and do not include information about your qualifications or past job responsibilities. In the last paragraph, include information related to your strengths and expertise. However, do not overdo it by including too much information.
Do not neglect the salutation also. Always make sure to write the salutation in the same language (using the same font and style) as your cover letter. Do not use a fancy font or a special font for the salutation. Again, do not use any special characters or italicize any text in your salutation. If you have any family members or friends who are related to the company you are applying for, it would be a good idea to mention them in your salutation. Other helpful tips in formatting a cover letter can be found out on the internet.